Ramblings of a whimsical mind

I started writing this almost a week back....but never got down to completing it! So here goes my week old post...

What started out as a comment on a blogpost, has now found place in my blog as the topic kept nagging me since I read the post.

As I've mentioned earlier, the human psychology intrigues me no end. Though I am not audacious enough to claim even the slightest knowledge of the science that makes our mind function the way they do...but I love to observe, experience the various hues of human behaviour and guage what goes on in that soft core of our mind to make people do and think and react the way they do!

Sometimes or rather quite often, I feel we are a nation of hypocrites.

The world's 2nd most populous country cringes with awkwardness at the slightest mention of man-woman relationship. I wonder why?

Even a hint of the so called 'taboo' topics kicks up a storm and make us rush behind the purdahs! I wonder why....

Expressions of affection and (commercial) celebration of love generates hysterical and violent reaction from a section of society who claim to be upholders of the Indian culture. I wonder what exaclty is the definition of Indian Culture?

When our forefathers, thousands of years ago, could pen down the ultimate epic on the art and science of love and create architechtural marvels whose mysticism, aesthetics, sensuality evoke awe and appreciation worldwide even today, when they celebrated the beauty of Purush-Prokriti and evolution through procreation, I wonder why we have taken a regressive path.

Well our double standards have been brought out in an interesting manner in Dr Biswas's Blogpost, as I mentioned earlier. And that is exactly what got me thinking....of the system of union of modern day Purush-Prokriti in the form of marriage. why does the system of Indian marriage differ so greatly in reality from it's artistic depiction in literature, arts and popular mainstream visual arts.

Human beings especially young adults who form the major chunk of the main protagonists of our novels and films, be it in Bankim Chandra, Sarat Chandra's times or in Bollywoodian romance of Dilli6 or others, love to dream of an utopian world, far removed from practicalities.On the other hand, the enforcers of our social fabric, more rigid and eagle-eyed in the days of bankim babu than today's liberated urban india, continue to believe that a practical measuring up of the pros and cons of the prospective girl & boy...their social/religious compatibility, their financial status, etc etc & other business-transaction-like factors decide happiness in the union.But authors & film maker , being artists in their own right, are artistically & creatively inclined. To an artist, financial & worldly wise factors are meaningless (though in today's world even the creatively inclined are money-wise)...so the romantics that they are, create stories of utopian dreams, indifferent to reality. However, the money-wise, modern day creators know, that the common man & women, love to dream dreams, weave a rose tinted romantiic world where love conquers all. So knowing the weakness of our human mind, they encash on it, and give us images of mushy romance, where a taxi driver successfully woos and wins the rich man's daughter inspite of all obstacles. So what if in the 'real' india, girls are bartered and then battered to death !! As for me, I believe, arranged or love, the basis of marriage should be bonding, friendship, mutual respect & trust. Love is such an ephemeral thing....we dont even know how to define it and what it's all about. Scientists call it a chemical secretion of an enzyme the effect of which can last a maximum of 7 years. That's too clinical for me and i have seen bonding for years which is ten times that 7!!We see love marriages fall apart within months of formalising several years of courtship and we see complete strangers built a beautiful lifelong partnership brick by brick! I wonder which one of the two I would call LOVE...We humans put tags of love & arranged to such a complex relationship which need so much more than sugary filmy style love....we humans are such complex creatures after all!